Apparatus for treating alunite.



H. F GHAPPELL. APPARATUS FOR TREATING ALUNITB. APPLICATION FILED 00115, 1913.

Patented Mar. 3, 19141 3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

&

H. F. GHAPPELL. APPARATUS FOR TREATING ALUNITE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 15, 1913.

Patented Mar. 3, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

H. P. OHAPPELL. APPARATUS FOR TREATING ALUNITE. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 15, 1913.

Patented Mar. 3, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHBET 3.

bill

State of New York, have invented certain asei'ies of such floors, one above the other, 30 new and useful Improvements in Apparatus with an intervening space, and these floors for Tr ating Ah it d Id h b d are provided with appropriate openings so clare the'following to be .a full, clear, and as to give thegases a zig-zag course in risexact descripti f th i v nti u h a pig-through the fire chamber. This is readwill enable others skilled in the art to which 11y e fected for instance, by permitting the 85 it appertainsto make and use the same. gases to use thiough openings near the 11 an application for Letters Patent of side walls of the fire chamber in alternate the United States filed by me under date 001s and through middle openin s in the of M 8, 1913, S ial N() 766,269, I h v intermediate floors, as indicated by the ar described a method of calcining alunite, in. IOWS in Fig. 2. The floors, as shown, may two tag th t t t Proposed h vi g be readily supported upon projections on for its purpose to obtain increased unithe outer sides of the rctorts and like p1 o ec formity of product, economy of'fue], certlons from the inner side Walls of the fire tainty as tothe'time factor involved, and chamber. regularity of progress of the calcining op- At their upper ends, the retorts a open eration as a whole. S l it had f its into perpendicular shafts d of the same infurther object to facilitate the recovery, to terior cross-sectional dimensions as the readvantage,'of the sulfur'gases and vapors tort and of approximately the same length. given off during the operation and inci- It will be further noted that the fire gases dentally to render the calcining operation which have been used for heating the reinnocuous to vegetation in the locality in torts or muitles, likewise enter the perpen- 1 which the calcination is practised. dicular shafts d referred to, and pass from In the accompanying drawings, I have their points of entrance at the bottom of the illustrated a furnace adapted for the pracshafts d upward through the char e contise of the method referred to, upon a contamed therein finally making their exit 86 siderable commercial scale, and the present through the exit chimneys or flues 6. These invention, constituting a division of my ap ues e are provided with regulating damplication above referred to, relates to the pcis f adapted to be automatically governed features of-possible novelty involved in the y any suitable intermediate mechanism, if said furnace and its adjuncts. esned, from a pyrometer g I have merely 90 In the drawings,-Figure 1 represents a. illustrated the intermediate mechanism dialongitudinal sectional view of such a furnace grammatically, inasmuch as available conpartly broken away midway of its length, 'structions for this purpose are well known so as to accommodate the View to the scale and do not require specific illustration and upon which the drawing is made; Fig. 2 description. represents a vertical transverse section The shafts d are adapted to be charged thereof; Fig 3 represents a horizontal from suitable hoppers h having regulating transverse section and partial plan view; gates h, as shown, and the hoppers may be Figs. 4 and 5 represent, respectively, views charged conveniently from suitable elevataken at right angles to each other and illustors or otherwise. It'is likewise convenient trating the discharge end of one of the furand desirable to have a single hopper feed nace mufies. V a number of retorts, as indicated, for in- Similar letters of reference indicate simistance, in Fig. 1. To facilitate the draft, the laiparts throughout the several views. exitfiues e may be rovided with an ex- Referring to the drawings A indicates a beast fan (not shown? bench or fire chamber within which are '10- Each of the retorts discharges at its hotcated a. series of upright retorts or muflles a, tom into a water-jacketed casing a, which which may, conveniently, be twelve in nummay be made up'of two sections as shown her, as indicated in Fig. 3. These retorts more fully in Figs. 4 and 5 having a Water inlet at i and a water exit at 5 the UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

1, t)89,l1fi. Patented Mar. 3, 1914.

Original application filed May 8, 1913, Serial No. 766,269. Divided and this application filed October 15,

' 1913. Serial No. 795,207;

Specification of Letters Patent.

' I tion of coal, and they may conveniently be heated from three producers B, having flues which discharge below the lowermost bench floor 0. The bench is provided with To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HOWARD F. CHAPPELL, a citizen of the United States, residing in the borough of Manhattan, city, county, and

are similar to those used for the gasifica- I Fig. 2, and

to be admittedin regulated amount.

e D from en tering the bottom of the retorts. The receptacle D is provided with an 1ncl ined bottom and a water as indicated, with Z leading into a tank E from material collected can be withdrawn by a pump 'F, or otherwise. An elevating screw conveyer G lifts the quenched calcined product and discharges it into a suitable receptacle. Each of the water-jacketed casings is provided with a tube 7 through which suitable test samples may be withdrawn from time to time, if desired.

At the bottom of each of the casings into which the retorts are discharged are located two pipes, one of which as m serves for the admission of air and the other, as n, serves for the admission of steam, bot of these pipes being provided with regulating valves so as to permit the air and stelaliln e through the completely level is maintained, a suitable overflow pipe air or steam passes calcined alunite andbecomes highly preheated before entering the retort proper, thereby making available the heat of the calcined alunite for use in the interior ofthe retorts, thus supplementing the heat 1mparted from without by the fire gases. Furthermore, the upward passage of the air or steam, as the case may be, facilitates the removal of the gases from the retorts and greatly decreases the fuel consumption.

Immediately above the tops of the retorts, exit pipes H are provided for the purpose of removing the gases generated in the retorts. Immediately above these pipes and on opposite sides of the shaft, but elow the flues which lead into the shafts d are lo cated pipes I, provided with valves. These pipes Iare used to admit air or other aeriform fluid under pressure. This air, when properly regulated, prevents the fire gases which heat the retorts from entering the retorts, inasmuch as-the air or other aeriform fluid thus admitted acts as a barrier to the downflow into theiretorts a of the fire gases, as is indicated by the arrows in this is effected without in anfyt way interfering with the proper updra through the stacks d. I

It is important that the combustion chamber between the fire boxes or generathe which the retorts or mufli sulfuric acid tors B and the retort-chamber shouldv be sufliciently large to permit of practically complete co bustion of the furnace gases before they enter the retort chamber. thermore, the distribution of the gases on their circuitous course through the hon-- zontal flues should be capable of regulation, as, for instance, by fire-tile slides s which are capable of being operated from the exterior of the furnace so as to regulate the effective size of the openings and to direct the gases in the desired direction, as is the practice in the gasifying of coal in vertical retorts heated-by horizontal flues.

The temperature of the gases tom of the retort-heating chamber or bench should be approximately 1500 C., and the fire gases should leave the chamber and enter the bottom of the shafts (Z at about 750 C.

The alunite to be calcined isscreened to a convenient size, say one inch mesh. Any large amount of dust or fines should be removed. The ore is then fedinto the hoppers and passes therefrom into the upper end of the shafts a). In starting the furnace, it is preferable to have each retort and shaft filled with ore that has previously been completely calcined. The products of combustion from the'generatorsB should then be admitted into the retort-chamber and the temperature raised adually until, as hereinbefore indicated, t e temperature of the gases entering the shafts d is .not less than 750 C, and those entering the retort-chamber at the bottom thereof than 1500 C.

After these temperatures have continued for about one hour, an

when the lower end of the vertical center of the charge of the retorts is not less'than 900 C.,-the automatic rotating gates j are started. The rotation of-the gates is continued until a sample of the alunite re-v moved through thesampling tubes p at the bottom of the retorts just shows a faint trace of soluble alumina. The number of revolutions of the said automatic discharge gate should then be very sli htlg decreased. It is contemplated to' keep go i the calcined alunite and the admission of the feed in such correspondence that the retorts will remain practically full during the operation.

The recovery of the sulfuric acid'from the es is effected, by withdrawing the gases through the exit pipes H, or the like provided for the purpose, this withdrawal being effected by any suitable exhaust (not shown), familiar-to the art. They are first-preferably, received in a suitable condenser or condensers wherein the and S0 are recovered bycondensation or by condensation assisted by absorption, and the S0, is converted into sulfuric acid either by the lead chamber '100 not less process or by the contact process, as the case may be. In fact, the particular manner of recovering the gases available as sulfuric acid may be appropriately varied to accommodate itself to the particular choice of the operator, the local market conditions, freight facilities, and the like.

.Having thus describedfmy invention, What I claim is:

1. Apparatus for calcining alunite and the like, comprising an upright retort 'or muffle, a shaft for supplying said retort or muffle, and a heating chamber surrounding the retort for heating the retortexternally, said heating chamber communicating with the shaft so as to pass the fire gases from the heating chamber into and through the shaft; substantially as described. I

2. Apparatus for calcining alunite and the like, comprising an upright retort or muttle, a shaft for supplying said retort or mufiie, a heating chamber surrounding the retort for heating the retort externally, said heating chamber communicating with the shaft so as to pass the fire gases from the heating chamber into and through the shaft,

exit conduits for withdrawing the gases from the retort, and means for preventing fire gases from being drawn into the retort; substantially as described. i Apparatus for calcining alunite and the like, comprising mutlie, a shaft for supplying'said retort or muffle, a heating chamber surrounding the retort for heating the retort externally, said heating chamber communicating with the shaft so as to pass the fire gases from the heating chamber into and through the shaft,

exit conduits for Withdrawing the gases from the retort, and the fire gases from retort, said means consisting of a pipe for admitting into the retort above the exit for the retort gases a supplyof aeriform fluid under pressure; substantially as described.

4. Apparatus for calcining alunite and the like, comprising an upright retort or means for preventing an upright retort orbeing drawn into the,

mutlle, a shaftfor supplying said retort or mufiie, a heating chamber surrounding the retort for heating the retort externally, said heating chamber communicating with the shaft so as to pass the fire gases from the heating chamber into and through the shaft, and means for admitting air into the bottom of the retort; substantially as described.

5. Apparatus for calcining alunite and the like, comprising an upright retort or muflle, a shaft for supplying said retort or mufiie, a heating chamber surrounding the retort for heating the retort externally, said heating chamber communicating with the shaft so as to pass the fire gases from the heating chamber into and through the shaft, and means for admitting steam into the bottom of the retort; substantially as described.

6. Apparatus for calcining alunite and the like, comprising an upright retort, an exit conduit for the discharge of the retort gases, means for heating the retort externally, and a discharge chute for the retort, said discharge chute having a lateral inclination thereby. permitting it'tosustain the weight of the charge, being provided with a discharge valve at its lower end; sub stantially as described. 7. Apparatus for'calcining alunite and the like, comprising an upright retort, an exit conduit for the discharge of the retort gases, means for heating the retort externally, and a discharge chute for the retort, said discharge chute having a lateral inclination thereby permitting it to sustain the weight of the charge, being provided with a discharge valve at its lower end, a water trough into which the chute discharges, and means for preventing the entrance of steam from the water trough into the retort; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

HOWARD F. CHAPPELL.

Witnesses:

M. L. BOWEN, 'M. A. BILL. 

